We're getting close to the weekend and that works for me. Time to take a deep breath, laugh, smile and find a bit of relaxation.

The theme is METAL over at The Challenge and these not quite grunge but on its way there drum seats from [ht:home] may be just what you need to sit back and relax with some buddies. More colorful versions are also available. Great animations!

My casual weekend outfit hales from SLX. The Science outfit includes all you see here including bracelet, glasses on a chain and high top sneakers (that work with Maitreya and most likely other mesh bodies). My shoe stands were devoid of sneakers that would work for my mesh body so these are a real find. They are unrigged and resizable so I made them a tad smaller for my only petite in relation to other avatars feet *wink*.

The top has an intricate pattern of subtle lines and dots which gives it a bit of extra pizzazz, and a five color hud of choices let's you go with what your mood dictates.

As bloggers many of us are in a constant state of showing the newest, brightest and most fashionable releases that either come our way or that we go searching for. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that; it is actually part of our job description.

But I got to thinking today as I was putting together this outfit. What about our old favorites? So this post features three new releases and a couple of almost ancient accessories that I found hiding under some dust bunnies at the bottom of my closet. Put them together and we have a girl next door in the 1990s sort of look.

First up -- the Baiastice Nomi Python Dress -- mine here in Red/Azure for Uber. Now this could certainly be a more timely clubbing dress, a shopping outfit -- all sorts of possibilities come to mind. And isn't that the fun of it? We get to play paper dolls on a much fancier scale, outfitting our virtual selves to fit our mood.

My hair is a new release from Vanity Hair called Flow forproject 7 which seems to be a new venue. At least it is new to me! It opens sometime today.

The Sway's [Shutter] Notice Board comes in both regular woods or shabby and includes a menu with many color choices. Packed full of fun details like post cards and keys, there are of course many areas to add you own photos. Lots of fun, you can find this at Lost and Found, a very fun shopping experience with a bit of hiking involved -- and that's a good thing don't you think?

My oldies but goodies in this mix (besides the photos from SO VERY long ago) are a bracelet from Ear Candy dated October 20, 2010. Ear Candy was definitely one of my favorite jewelry designers of my youth.

My tied sweater was some sort of event blogger item from a store called Sky. Ah, a quick search and it was Fashion for Life in 2014. The store owner seems to be on hiatus at the moment as a note says she will be gone for the summer :D. Well that DOES happen.

I think it is good to wander through our older inventories and remember the past. Most of us have many good times to recall.

The new Boho Glamping set from Cheeky Pea for Uber takes you right back to The Summer of Love -- and that aint bad! Tons of pieces -- not all shown here -- let you take a step back in time. This cute little A frame shelter is part of the release.

The SLX Outfit: NZB - Jumpsuit is fitting for this era. I had quite a few back in the day. Always comfy. The outfit comes with black studded heels as well as a necklace. The bracelets shown are part of the set also. Five color choices by hud.

New Sucre hair from eXxEsS fits nicely with the mood. Long a sleek, that was the style.

There are quite a few people in my life (mostly men) who are convinced that I don't play enough. They are likely right!

Busy with Fantasy Faire creations I am definitely outside of my normal comfort zone -- and having a wonderful time. So when a huge box of past Amacci release hairs landed in my inventory this morning I had a little squee time.

Many styles and genres, I divided them into folders by types for easier finding. Since I was already IN fantasy mode and since I am currently working on vendor photos which NEED fantasy style hair -- my first pick to show you is Bounty. There are many color set huds for each of the newer hairs. They are easy to use with accurate color photos. This is from the "variants" pack.

Since I was playing (oh my!) I decided to look in my "poses to go through" folder. Among the many offerings from Helamiyo who makes some very memorable poses (the Geometry set from long ago still one of my go tos for quirky shots) I found these Sorry What offerings. Now these were from a venue likely long past, but you can just zip over to Miyoko Magic's shop and see what you might find.

Since I was possibly having a little too much fun this morning before my work day began, a raw shot of Bounty is included here. I can't wait to show you some of the other styles. And if YOU can't wait, just zip on over to the hair store at Amacciand fine a perfect new "do".

Now even though fun was the theme this morning, I was a GOOD LITTLE BLOGGER and read the notecard that came with the hairs. Here's what you bargain hunting gals need to know.

Started March 25th – a short and sweet spring sale with discount on some of the newest hairstyles. You will get 30% off on 24 of the newer hair releases! The sale will run a week.

Jewelry by MEVA from a past gacha venue. It may still be at the main shop; worth checking.

I showed you this wonderfully fitting Sue bodysuit (Maitreya) from Stories&Co. by Flowey a few days ago. What I did NOT tell you is that it is mod. Yes, you heard me gals. You can change both transparency and tint the color for perfect matches !

Ready to move? If you love old world romance this could easily be your next abode. In its complete version, the Trompe Loeil Brier Garden Set for Uber is ready for you to move in. There are even lounging chairs for when those packing boxes get to heavy and you really need a rest!

So VERY cute, the build also comes in components so you can have garden without house, house without garden, trees, lights -- you get the idea. There is a stream and several outdoor seating areas just waiting for you to toss down that blanket and enjoy the Spring day.

The inside is gorgeously textured in muted neutrals. Tall ceilings add spaciousness to the tiny cottage.

The walled garden is designed for a 1024 plot. The house of course could be used on a 512.

So zip on over to Uber -- it is really an EXCELLENT round and you don't want to miss out.

There is a dampness to the morning. The ocean mist hangs low along the banks. The lighthouse blinks its warning into the dense gray clouds.

The Baiastice Scarab Bag has so many lovely details the eye wanders from one perfect spot to another. Five neutrals and three jewel colors comprise the palette of this release. Find it at Uber.

If you haven't made it over to COLLABOR88 yet, now is the perfect time. Lots less gray and an overall more enjoyable shopping experience. The Myria layered dress has am impressive and extensive hud for the shirt and overskirt -- in this case the bold and brightly patterned areas. This dress could also serve as a tunic style over leggings. Another offering from Baiastice that you definitely want to try.

My eye-catching ring is from Kunglers at On9, shoes by Essenz - Alabama, an older release.

Some of us are feminine by nature, others not so much. Still there are times when the softer side of female needs to be the one we show the world.

The Cheeky Pea Spring Garden Bench comes in both natural and white, PG and A versions and includes some very pretty plants and planters as well as light strings. Find all the goodness at N21.

The Baiastice Lace Hand Bag is definitely for the times when jeans and sneakers simply won't do. With many lovely colors to choose from, it is not only photogenic -- it has straps small enough to fit easily in your hands and simply "works". Find it at COLLABOR88.

The new {MYNX} Cargo Skirts mix casual and style for a pleasing combo. Soft fabrics, roomy pockets and lovely texturing make for go to skirts for Spring and Summer. Each color pack includes both plain and heart patterned versions. [Marketplace listing here]

From eXxEsS hair, AMANDE is a whispy asymmetrical style with a slightly windblown look. Perfect for outdoor events and photo shoots, it comes in the standard (and that means MANY colors) texture pack choices.

And available today from MEVA for SaNaRae, the Cyoko necklace in three color choices -- black, brown and cream (shown).

Sami hasn't been around much lately but since I needed a partner for some vendor shots she wandered in. Thank goodness for IMs to email :D.

Some folks have good "land karma" (Chic waves hand wildly) and others seem to have a knack for winning on gachas. After she went over to Letluka and bought her new mesh head (lots of days testing to feel if it was 'her') she decided to see if there was anything new in the Pure Poison group gift gacha since she hadn't been there in awhile.

Well there was.

AND ---

She won the ULTRA RARE version of the new high heels (various mesh body versions included in the pack) WITH a huge hud that let's you chang all sorts of part in oh so many ways.

I swear the next time I want something from The Arcade, I am sending Sami - LOL. That girl is blessed for sure. While this is the first ULTRA rare she has won, she has won the rares a couple of times and a the color she wanted other times. That girl really has the magic.

So zip over to Pure Poison and try your luck. There is of course a pay machine next to the group one should you not be quite as lucky as my gal!

From MEVA -- the Cathien Collar in brown for The Fantasy Collective. Black is also available as well as some coordinating nipple covers. The collar comes in three variations aimed and accomidating most sizes of breasts. I chose the NB version which I am guessing means "no breasts". Other options are SB and BB :D.

My backdrop is the very photogenic 22769 ~ [bauwerk] Sacred Fountain available at We Love Roleplay. This is a large structure with steps leading to the fountain. It weighs in at 35 land impact as shown here. There is an add on pack that includes pieces for landscaping the area around the fountain.

Just out from Stories&Co. by Flowey, the Sue Bodysuit (MAITREYA ONLY) with several texture change huds. This fits beautifully with lots of "real life" detail. Find it at No21.

When I featured the HAYSURIZA Eyewear Sahara glasses from On9, I didn't mention that there are also versions that get worn in your shirt front. I typically do this in our corporeal world so it is fun to be able to do it in virtual land. An extensive menu with color options and lens choices is available by clicking on the glass. The regular version of the glasses has an on head option. So many ways to wear!

This is one of several color combos of the !six o'clock! caged houses available at On9. Definitely girlie, they remind us that Spring isn't that far off. Yeah!

If you haven't ventured over to The Liaison Collaborative, now's the time. An anniversary is underway and some of the participants are celebrating by gift giving (such a great SL tradition). You do NOT want to miss this dress from United Colors. Several popular mesh body fits are included and I can definitely vouch for the Maitreya version. The Molly leather dress comes with a hud that let's you pick between four see-through versions of sheer panel. You can also make the sheer parts invisible if you are a REALLY brave gal.

Other girlie gifts include this jewelry set from !:Lybra:! ...

and home and garden gifts from Roawenwood (four wall prints), [ht:home] (console table also in black) and 22769 ~ [bauwerk] (aloe vera plants in pots).

Fantasy Faire is a month away. Always enjoyable; always magical and creative -- this is the first year that I will take part as a creator. I have been puttering away with bright colors and complex shapes, daydreaming of what might be my next project. It is good to switch gears a bit and let imagination take over.

For the bloggers among us there are challenges to partake in, one being a trip down Memory Lane.

Happily my blog has a search feature and even after 4200 plus posts, that handy little gadget can usually find what I am looking for as long as I chronicled the particulars and not just jotted down something inane like "isn't this the cutest thing?".

Wandering through the Chic at Phil's Place entries, it seems that I missed Fantasy Faire last year. I have a few posts featuring Fantasy Faire items from "my designers", but no photos of the venue.

Last Spring was a tough one for me. Many virtual life changes, goodbyes, battles and the like. I remember it was sometimes difficult just to get my blog posts done, so it is easy to see how I could have let the event pass by. That's a shame really; it would likely have cheered me.

I do have photos from other years though. 2014 seems to have been my year to collect snapshots. I can remember the hunt area -- very impressive and fairly mystical -- as well as other places I visited. The skin in the top photo was a wear-the-all-in-one-layer-and-cut-down-on-lag gift :D.

I am pretty sure I attended the 2013 celebration but sadly I kept no records of my adventures.

2012 was perhaps my favorite year. Mostly I remember the sands of time in the magical desert area. They flowed so realistically it was amazing -- and remember this was FOUR years ago! I really felt like I was in the land of hot winds and endless tides of dust.

The sunflower fields were definitely Oz-like. I added those sunflowers to the MOSP landscape. They danced merrily with the sheep and pigs and of course, the scarecrow.

2011

This is the only photo I have of my first visit to the Faire. I seem to remember a steampunk sim that I enjoyed immensely, but beyond that it is a blur.

They are all good memories, colorful times of adventure and exploration. I am looking forward to adding to my virtual scrapbook with this years travels.

Various colors are available for each of these releases and of course there are discounts to be had for those that seek. (Well that was mysterious; just read the info at the landing point :D)

There is a bit of "afterwards" here. This is pretty spectacular hair, now doubt about it. And it comes with hairbases including models for mesh heads. Now being a NORMAL gal, I did not read the 'read me please, please, please' notecard that accompanied the hair bases. Confusion reigned (well, I DIDN'T READ after all).

Here's the thing. When you use the hair base hud it add the hair but turns the hair base to OFF, so you have to get out your head hud and turn it back on, each time you try a color. That's the downside.

The UP side is that the hud colors match the hair colors very well (not always true) AND the hairbases are spectacular (way, way better than the default Lelutka one for example). They are so soft and shiny, sure to be used often.

So that's my tip for those of you in the mesh head camp.

ALSO, while I am thinking about it, I love this Lumae skin. This is the group gift fantasy version that I featured awhile back, but the regular bare skin will be available at Skin Fair. You can get the demo version by joining the Lumae group and checking the archives. The packs are huge with many many many appliers.

From the notecard.

Eirtae BARE will be available from 11th March @ The Skin Fair. She will be available in 10 tones for the event discount price of 425L and will include all head and body appliers I currently make and a couple of little extras.!

Now I REALLY had to smile when I opened the COLLABOR88 box from Second Spaces. The secret garden potting tables come in a variety of pastels as well as white with an oh so slight "shabby" finish. Both filled and unfilled tables are included in each pack.

Now here's the thing. The tables come in a very monochrome manner. They look great and that calm monochrome - grayscale may be just what you need. Typically I am in that camp, but today I apparently needed something more robust. So, since I knew how to tint mesh objects I did a little experiment -- and it went very well. Smart materials choices (don't sweat that techie stuff; just know it works) let you tint different areas WITHIN the object to coordinate with your color scheme. Since I have no color scheme in my garden, I just played :D.

For those of you that don't build much, with the build menu open you need to touch the area that you want to change AFTER you have put a dot in the "select face" option. Then you can use the color picker to define the color you want. Items are copy of course so feel free to PLAY and LEARN. All good.

The table is absolutely darling and I can see it in lots and lots of gardens in the near future.

I can vouch for the fit on the Maitreya version of the dress. We know by now that not everything named [Maitreya] actually fits LOL. All parts of my outfit are both very cute and well made so zip on over to On9 and take your shopping bag.

The glasses come with a touch to change hud that let's you adjust many features including the tint of the glass. There is a version that fit in your shirt front which is sure to be fun in photo shoots.

I remember going to arty events. All the artists seemed to show up in black.

Really. At least 95 percent. A sea of neutral, possibly so that we could pose artfully with our work and not clash. Who knows?

And while each of these new releases comes in various colors or has a multi color hud, I went with black. What can I say. Old habits die hard.

I was heading over to LEA land where an art gallery has been erected in praise of Bauhaus. The museum was specially built in LEA2 to showcase 2D and 3D works from the historical Bauhaus school. Architecture, paintings and furniture all mix in curves and angles -- a beautiful place of simplicity.

Flux Sur Mer is one of the most gorgeous places I have seen in awhile. So very many details artfully arranged. It would be easy to spend a few hours or a few days there. No need to hop on a plane to visit the French country side. A couple of clicks and you are there.

From Wicca's Wardrobe for On9 and all in one Meredith outfit, perfect for a brisk Spring (or Fall) walk. There are coordinating shoes for Slink high feet. My footwear of the morn are the recently released Baiastice Pointed knee boots in Redwood.

New hair from no.match is also available at On9. no.idea is a long casual style with bangs and top knot.

There are so many great releases out there my head is spinning. I don't often do megaposts, but I am giving it a try. Let's see what I can fit in AND do justice to *wink*.

From Trompe Loeil for COLLABOR88, darling little take me back in time cottages named Dorina. Various pastel colors are available as well as white. Small and cozy, the Dorinas are packed full of details, both inside or out.

Also new, there is a new Cam Shopping sim for COLLABOR88. I never made it in on blogger preview (the sim is currently full) but it adds 20 more possibilities for you clicking with crossed fingers.

Also at COLLABOR88, some very well fitting and moving short dresses with fatpack huds, the Audrey Dresses - Stories&Co. by Flowey . Both pastels and variety huds are available.

This "Wind-Swept" Couples Swing Prop is one of two new releases from ::WetCat::. The very pretty tree is separate from the swing so you can rotate the swing for the best background.

Where to we come from? That seems to be on a lot of my friend's minds of late. Wandering through records, looking for hints of our origins -- finding a trail.

The Internet search for my lineage didn't get far. Like the typist, my relatives were apparently not too interested in the public side of life. While Chic is all over, the typist -- once near the top of the Internet design mountain -- can no longer be found. That was a plan, not an accident :D. I let Chic take the bows these days and that works just fine for me.

I do have a fair amount of family lore to fall back on; a plantation owner in Georgia (apparently a nicer one that most as the tales recount the slaves staying on after they were officially free), a theater owner in the early days of cinema, a few prominent figures from Texas history.

And I am happy that there are some native American roots in there too -- Cherokee supposedly. I do have a love of the high desert and vast expanses, so I will attribute those feelings, in part, to my heritage.